Men’s Basketball: Rams continue to show improvement

The Gavilan College men’s basketball team continues to show improvement in year two under coach David Kaplansky. The Rams (3-6) recently won back-to-back games, beating Ohlone-Fremont 69-58 on Dec. 4 and Merced 82-71 on Dec. 8. The victories came off the heels of a four-game losing streak.
“I’m really satisfied with how the guys played in those games,” Kaplansky said. “The win over Ohlone was our truly first complete game since I’ve been here. I’m so excited because it’s a huge win for our boys to beat a competitive program on the road.”
Gavilan had a much rougher time in the Skyline College Tournament in San Bruno over the weekend, dropping both of its games by 22 and 20 points, respectively. However, the Rams showed they’re more solid than they were a year ago, and dramatically improved from two years ago.
Isaac Sears, Laron Logwood and Rob Jones had terrific games in the mini winning streak. Sears exploded for 30 points and was 7 of 11 from 3-point range against Merced, Robbie Skinner had 16 points and eight rebounds, Jones had 14 and Logwood 10.
The Rams finished 14 of 22 from beyond the arc after making 10 of 22 3-point shots against Ohlone.
“The 3-point shots carried over from the Ohlone game,” Kaplansky said. “The team defense was there, and the ability of each guy to cover each other up and buy into a team-first philosophy is the reason why in those two games we played as well as we possibly can.”
Against Ohlone, Gavilan slowed the game down, running a 4 corners offense that allowed it to control the tempo.
“We did a good job of moving and swinging the ball and finding a wide open shot,” Kaplansky said. “The game plan was to play keep away, keep them on defense and maximize every possession.”
Gavilan hosts Canada-Redwood City on Friday at 6 p.m.